Tour takes on Trump’s Monster

The world’s best arrive at Doral’s Blue Monster for this week’s WGC Cadillac Championship. This year’s event will have some extra media coverage with presidential candidate and Doral owner, Donald Trump, expected to be in attendance.

The focus is often on the majors and the Players Championship as the “must-see” events of the year, but the World Golf Championships have the best and most exclusive fields of any tournament.

Last year’s championship saw Dustin Johnson triumph over J.B. Holmes by one shot. Johnson hit an incredible drive that carried 318 yards over the water hazard on Doral’s tough 18th, setting up an easy par and the win.

Givin’ the people what they want

Doral will play host to 48 of the top 50 players in the world. It will mark the first time since last September’s Tour Championship that the Big 3 (Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy) will be in the same field.

WGC officials did fans a favor planning the pairings for Thursday and Friday’s action. Groups to watch will be: Jordan Spieth/Jason Day/Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson/Rickie Fowler/Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson/Adam Scott/Justin Rose to name a few.

Fans that want to tune in to early-round coverage can find the action from 1-6pm EST on the Golf Channel. Those that have a day-job, don’t forget to set your DVR’s.

Hardboiled Picks to click

Stat of the weekSince Gil Hanse’s redesign in 2013, Doral has turned into a bomber’s paradise, so pick out your favorite long-hitters. Last year’s event saw its top 3 finishers (D. Johnson, Holmes and Bubba Watson) also fill the top 3 spots in driving distance. Of the top 15 finishers, 10 finished in the top 20 in distance.

Stud: JB HolmesDraftKings Salary: $9,400Last year’s runner-up is one of the longest players on tour, ranking 3rd in driving distance in 2016. Holmes also comes in after playing some great golf, finishing no worse than 11th in his past 4 starts.

Sleeper: Brendan GraceDraftKings: $8,300The South African came into Florida on a tear having recorded 6 straight top 8 finishes before missing the cut at the Honda. Averaging over 300 yards off the tee and ranking 11th in the world, Grace is a great value at this salary.

Rose captures Seminole Pro-Member

While no sponsors or big purses await, the Monday following the Honda Classic is a date marked on dozens of tour pros’ calendars. Every year, the ultra-exclusive Seminole C.C. in South Florida hosts a highly competitive pro-member tournament. This year saw Justin Rose take home the crown, firing a best-ball score of 63 with partner Seth Waugh. Reports from those in attendance claimed Rose did this all on his own ball.

“Golfweek’s Best” lists are released

On Monday, GolfWeek released their annual top golf course lists that included the Top 100 Modern and Classic Courses in the United States.

Rounding out the top 5 from their Modern Courses list are Sand Hills in Nebraska, Pacific Dunes of the Bandon Dunes Resort, Friar’s Head in New York, Ballyneal in Colorado and Old MacDonald (another Bandon Dunes course).

On the Classics List, the top 5 includes the more familiar names of Pine Valley, Cypress Point, Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links and Augusta National.

Speaking of top courses

We sat down with a man who played the world’s top 100 courses by the age of 32, read the full interview here.

Wednesday’s Workout

Rotational stability is crucial to your golf swing. To rotate faster, make sure your body can stay in control. Try this exercise the next time you are at the gym.

College Roundup

The spring season for college golf kicked off this week with most of the country’s top teams in action. USC, ranked 6th in the country, captured the renowned Southwestern Jones Invitational by 20 shots over Pepperdine. While 11th-ranked Georgia beat a field that included 12 of the top 35 teams in the country at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate. Finally, top-ranked Illinois continued their winning ways in a nail-biter over Kansas and Texas A&M at the Louisiana Classics.